


Elemental Magic Part 3

by Persiflage



Series: Bondkink Fics [43]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Magic, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Consensual Sex with Younger Characters, Elemental Magic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Familiars, Gay Male Character, Hostage Situation, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Mage, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multi, Romance, Sex Magic, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-20
Updated: 2013-04-22
Packaged: 2017-12-09 00:01:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/767633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Olivia and James find themselves facing a vicious vendetta over the death of Mage Karpinsky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wolfsbride](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfsbride/gifts).



> This is the third (and probably final!) part of the Elemental Magic tale. Please note - mages are bonded with their familiars around puberty, so their relationship is considered consensual and legal. However, if you object to legal, consensual sex between a teenager and an older person, please don't read. (The reference to mildly dubious consent relates to Olivia and another character in a later chapter - not to the teenagers.)  
> Many thanks go to Wolfsbride for letting me think aloud at her in order to work out the key plot point for this story - and for fantastic cheerleading.

Prologue

20 years ago, Asturias

The thirteen year old street kid, Tiago Rodriguez, swaggered as he entered the bar where he was meeting tonight's target. The barman gave him a nod as he ordered a beer and settled himself onto a stool where he could watch customers entering the bar via the mirror on the wall behind the shelf that held various bottles of liqueur.

Tiago had nearly finished his beer when the dark-haired, buxom woman who was tonight's target stepped into the bar. He watched her in the mirror as she looked around, then caught sight of him sitting in the pre-arranged spot. She walked towards him, her olive skin glowing even in the poorly-lit bar. 

"Hello lover," she said softly, leaning down to nip at his earlobe.

"Hello Solange." 

"Are you ready to go?" she asked, surprising him since his 'dates' usually wanted a drink or two first to loosen them up.

"Yes." He hoped the rest of his crew had had time to get themselves to Solange's place already, because if she was this eager, she might be through with him before the boys were half done.

He slipped down off the barstool and pulled her arm through his as they crossed the bar and stepped out into the warm Asturias night. He signalled to a hansom cab, driven by one of his crew, although she didn't need to know that, and they climbed in, but before he could give the name of the inn where he'd booked a room for the night, Solange leaned forward and gave the driver the name of a different inn. He frowned, catching Garcia's eye and giving him a faint nod to tell him to drive to the woman's choice of inn. He wasn't sure why she was taking him to an inn rather than back to her apartment, but it hardly mattered so long as his crew had time to lift what they'd gone in for.

Garcia drove the hansom cab across the city at a good pace, and they were at the inn Solange had chosen within ten minutes. Tiago paid Garcia, murmuring, "See you later," as he accepted his change, then he joined Solange and pulled her arm through his again. The change of venue worried him only slightly since he was quite sure he could just as easily fool one innkeeper as another into believing that he was eighteen: he certainly looked it in his best suit, the one he always wore to meet the targets. 

"Good evening, Miss Solange." The innkeeper at the Andalusia was a tall man who bowed to them both before passing over the key to Solange's room. 

Solange led Tiago across the main room of the inn to a narrow flight of stairs and up to the floor above where he saw three doors on either side of the corridor. She led him to the one in the far left hand corner, unlocked the door, then gestured for him to step inside.

Tiago did, then felt his breath catch in the back of his throat when he saw a figure wearing a flame-red hooded robe standing at the window, his back to the room.

"What's going on?" demanded Tiago, more angry than frightened for the moment.

The figure turned, and pushed back the hood revealing a grey-haired man with deep-set eyes.

"Sit down please, Tiago. I want to talk to you."

"Who are you?" demanded Tiago.

"My name is Father White, and I am a mage."

Tiago took an involuntary step backwards, only to find Solange was right behind him. She put her hand in the small of his back and gently pushed him forwards. "Sit down," she said quietly. "We're not going to hurt you."

He obeyed, seating himself on the stool she'd indicated, then watched in astonishment as she placed her hand on the door, the palm flat against the wood, and spoke some words he couldn't make out. It was obvious, however, that she'd used a spell because a faint white light outlined her hand, then moved to left and right, travelling along the walls of the room, then outlining the window to meet above the fireplace.

"What do you want?" asked Tiago, with more belligerence than he felt.

"We'd like you to join us."

"Do what?" he asked, startled.

"Join us," repeated White. "I am the head of an organisation called the Most Holy League of Soteira. We are a group of mages and their familiars who have sworn to protect the legacy of the Mage Karpinsky, who lived in the Kingdom of Hetmanate over three hundred years ago. She was the greatest mage this world had ever seen, or is likely ever to see."

"Why would you want me to join you?" asked Tiago, baffled.

"Because you are a mage," White answered.

Tiago couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing at this. "Sorry, but you've got the wrong person," he said once he'd stopped laughing.

"On the contrary, I think I have exactly the right person," said White in a mild tone which nevertheless conveyed a certain menace to Tiago's ears. "I will tell you what I know about you and if I get even one thing wrong, you'll be free to leave here. What's more, Solange here won't report the attempted break-in at her apartment this evening by four boys from your street crew. Deal, Mr Rodriguez?"

"Yes, sir." Tiago's tone was sullenly respectful as he realised that White had him over a barrel if he didn't agree to at least listen to the man.

"Good. Despite your appearance you, Tiago Rodriguez, are thirteen years old and were orphaned at the age of six when a deadly fever killed both of your parents. Over the next three years you lived with a succession of aunts and uncles, all of whom found you to be a difficult child with a cruel streak that mostly manifested itself in the bullying of your cousins and their friends. Finally, after getting into a vicious fist-fight with your thirteen year old cousin, during which you broke both his nose and his right arm, you ran away from home." White looked at him. "How am I doing so far? All accurate?"

"Yes, sir." Now Tiago was worried: he'd never told anyone about the fight with his cousin Luis.

"You lived rough on the streets for a few days until, in a fight over food scraps with a boy four years your senior, you killed the boy, at which point you were invited to join the Garduña, a street crew in whose territory you had killed the boy. For three years you slowly worked your way up through the ranks of the Garduña until you became the number 2 to the current leader, Rudolph. His fifteen year old sister then seduced you, introducing you to the pleasures of sex, at which point, Rudolph made you an offer: in return for regular sex with Amelie, you would join an elite group within the street crew who used sex to earn large sums of money – one of the boys being sent out to spend the night with a woman, whose apartment or inn room was robbed. Being tall for your age, and well endowed, you could pass for eighteen in the right clothes, so you would go to a bar, chat up various women, asking subtle questions which allowed you to gauge how rich these women were. Then you would arrange to meet one of the women on the following evening and take her to an inn for sex, while the other four members of your group broke into the woman's apartment or inn room in order to rob her." White tilted his head and gave Tiago a thoughtful look. "Did I get anything wrong?"

"No, sir, you got everything right."

"Good. So, do you believe me when I tell you that you are a newly-empowered mage?"

"Yes, sir."

White nodded, his expression showing his satisfaction. "Then permit me to explain my organisation to you in detail."

007-007-007

"So what do you say, Tiago? Would you like to join my organisation?" asked White an hour later, once he'd finished explaining the Most Holy League of Soteira to the young man.

"I'll join, on one condition," Tiago answered, all his usual swagger having returned as a result of what he'd heard.

White raised an eyebrow. "What condition?" he asked, his tone icy and menacing.

"I get to fuck Solange before we leave here." He palmed his bulging cock through his trousers and saw the woman's nipples harden in response to the gesture. 

"Very well. But on two conditions," White answered.

"What?" asked Tiago, his cock straining against the front of his trousers as he unashamedly continued to touch himself.

"One – I watch."

"If you like," Tiago answered indifferently.

"And two – " White paused sufficiently long enough that Tiago's attention was drawn back to him from the woman. "Two – you suck me off afterwards."

Tiago's eyes widened, then he grinned savagely. "Done." He stood up and stripped off his clothes, dropping them into a heap beside his stool. He crossed the room to where Solange stood by the window, beside the chair on which White sat, and pulled her towards him. He gave her a rough kiss, then dragged her dress off and tossed it onto the stool, revealing large, full breasts, smooth olive skin, and a hairless pussy that instantly drove him wild with desire.

He wasted no time in pushing her towards the bed, shoving her down onto her back as his hard, heavy cock bobbed between his thighs. He spread Solange's legs open, then pushed two fingers inside her, groaning when he discovered how slick and ready she was. He pulled his fingers free, then shoved his cock into her in one swift, deep thrust, causing Solange to cry out in shock and pleasure as his young cock filled and stretched her. 

Tiago thrust deep and hard, pounding his cock into her while simultaneously Solange began to draw his energy from him, while sharing her energy with him. Eventually this exchange of energy and power tipped Tiago over the edge and he gave a hoarse yell as his orgasm exploded through his body, making him feel as if someone had lit a fire inside him. He was scarcely aware of pouring stream after stream of hot, sticky semen into Solange's pussy, which milked him of every last drop while coating his cock in her juices.

He collapsed on top of her, utterly spent after the best fuck he'd ever experienced. A few minutes later White slapped his arse, not too hard, but hard enough to jolt him out of his post-coital doze.

Tiago pulled himself up off Solange, and noticed that he was already hard again. Then he saw that White's robes had acquired an impressive bulge and he found himself more aroused than he'd expected to be at the sight. He climbed off the bed and moved across the room to crouch between White's spread legs as the mage resumed his previous seat. Tiago lifted up White's robes, revealing an impressive hard-on that made him lick his lips in anticipation. He'd never been with a man before, but he knew himself for a quick study, and White didn't hesitate to issue him with orders on how best to suck his cock.

Tiago found himself burning up as his mouth worked on the mage's cock; sweat stood out on his forehead and ran down his back, then he felt Solange's hand on his shoulder and immediately a soothing coolness settled over his body. He was slightly surprised when White yanked his cock from his mouth and emptied his seed over his face and chest, but Tiago didn't object to the mage's treatment. 

"Why'd I get so much hotter with you than her?" he asked White, gesturing at the Solange.

"You're a Fire and Earth mage, the same as I am," the older man explained. "When a mage and a familiar or two mages who share the same Elemental powers fuck, it intensifies the effects of sharing your power and energy. Whereas if you fuck someone who has the opposite Elemental powers, it more evenly balances out the effects."

"Can I still fuck non-mages, ordinary women?"

"If you do, you'll draw on their energy, even though they have no Elemental power. And if you fucked the same woman repeatedly, you'd drain her of her energy until eventually she died."

"Is that a no?" Tiago demanded.

"No, it's not. It's a warning to be careful – we do not wish to draw undue attention to the League. But once you've joined us you will not be allowed to fuck anyone outside of the League – a simple yet necessary precaution for one as young as you."

Tiago pouted, but he didn't argue. Instead he cupped his balls and asked, "Can I fuck again before we go?"

"Yes." White gestured at the bed, and Solange settled herself on her back, but Tiago shook his head. 

"On your hands and knees," he said.

She rolled onto her stomach, then pushed herself up onto her hands and knees; Tiago moved behind her and thrust his cock into her pussy, then shifted his hands from her hips to her tits and began playing with them as he fucked her. He definitely had a preference for big tits on women and he hoped his familiar would be as well endowed as Solange.

007-007-007

White and Tiago took a train from Asturias to the fabled city of Remo in Calabria. Centuries ago it had been known as the Holy City since it had been the centre of worship of the Goddess Soteira. These days, as White explained to Tiago, most people only bothered to celebrate the four Solstice Festivals, and worship of Soteira was considered by many to be an outmoded or unnecessary thing.

"That's why the League's work is so important," White said as the train sped north. They would be travelling for several days since they had to travel all the way through the Kingdom of Francia from Metragirta, Asturias' capital city, before they reached the border of Calabria, when they would once again turn south to Remo.

"We of the League believe that in abandoning the old ways, people have lost the ability to appreciate the mystical and the divine."

Tiago frowned, but didn't say anything; he couldn't see any obvious connections between a failure to continue in the worship of Soteira, and the acknowledged role of the League in preserving the legacy of the Hetmanatean Mage, Anna Karpinsky. On the other hand, he didn't really care about such a link; all that mattered to him was that the League would give him a home and that they practised the old ways of worship, which meant that they engaged in ritual sex, the thought of which excited him rather more than learning about his Elemental powers.

White began instructing Tiago almost as soon as the train left Metragirta, but he also allowed Tiago to spend time relaxing, which usually meant him having sex with Solange, although sometimes White fucked him, or the three of them fucked all together. 

"Most mages and familiars don't join outside their pair bond," White told him after one particularly energetic session between the three of them. "They consider that the bond is for life, and treat it as sacred, like non-mages treat their marriages, only moreso since no mage or familiar would leave their bonded partner. For the vast majority of mages and familiars only death parts them."

"Why does the League do things differently, then?" asked Tiago, idly stroking Solange's pussy.

"Because we know how much stronger our power becomes by sharing it more widely than with just our bonded partner. And we don't tell others about that discovery because it's to our advantage to be more powerful than others."

"I can understand that. So when do I get my familiar?"

"After we get to Remo. There's a special ceremony you have to complete. Normally the mage performs the Rite of Summoning and they have no idea who their familiar will be, but in your case, there's already someone lined up."

Tiago frowned. "How come?"

"There are a handful, five in fact, of familiars who joined the League when it was set up three centuries ago, who decided that they wanted to continue working for the League even after their mages died, so they decided that whenever someone within the League performed the Rite of Summoning after the familiar's mage had died, they would respond to ensure continuity within the League. You're the first newly-empowered mage to join the League since Camille's mage died a few days ago, so she will become your mage."

007-007-007

Four days later they arrived in Remo, and after a bath, a change of clothes, and a meal, Tiago was introduced to the senior members of the League. They were courteous but not effusive, which suited Tiago fine – he had no time for flatterers or sycophants – and he liked the way they made him feel welcome without making him feel obliged to be too friendly in return. They seemed to take his admission to the League as a matter of course. They all wore hooded robes in red, white, blue, or green, and White explained that this was intended to keep the most senior members' identities secret from the junior members since, in some quarters, involvement in the League was frowned upon.

He was sent to rest in a suite of rooms to which a young female mage named Emily led him. He immediately propositioned her, but she turned him down, explaining that he wouldn't be allowed to fraternise with anyone other than White or Solange before he had been bonded with his familiar. He was annoyed, but not for long as Solange arrived some twenty minutes later, and she immediately made it clear that she'd only come for one thing.

She left him locked in his rooms an hour later; not that he was aware she'd locked him in as he was fast asleep after their very vigorous intercourse. White was waiting for her at the end of the corridor, and he asked, "You obeyed me in every particular?"

"Yes, sir." 

"Good. I'm seeing Mitchell and Greene in an hour – I want them to be responsible for the boy's initial training and I may need you to persuade them to take him on, you know how touchy they can be if they don't get to select their own apprentices."

"Yes sir." 

White led the way upstairs to his own luxurious suite of rooms: heavy, embroidered hangings were scattered on the walls, in some places obscuring the oak panelling; thick carpets were spread on the floors of all the rooms; the windows were much larger than anywhere else in the Palazzo, and the glass was very thick. The bedroom's key feature was a large four-poster bed with rich velvet hangings in a burgundy colour, while the bathroom's chief feature was a sunken marble bath in a pale green colour.

Solange locked the door behind her as she followed White inside, then moved through to the bathroom and began running a bath. A few minutes later White came in, naked and aroused, and she knew that although she was tired from servicing Tiago, she would have to service White as well. While it was true that familiars had more stamina than mages, she had been fucking the two of them for five days, and Tiago seemed to be insatiable. She would be glad when the boy was bonded, and she didn't envy Camille for one moment.

Once the bath was full, White turned to her and swiftly stripped off her dress, then turned her around to face the bath. "Bend forward," he said in a curt tone, and she obeyed.

He stepped behind her and grasped her hips, then thrust into her, and she winced, biting her lip to stop herself from gasping: she was more sore than she'd realised and she wished White had waited until they were in the bath before he started to fuck her. Her only consolation was that he didn't last very long, so it was all over within ten minutes, then he climbed into the bath and she began washing him. She found herself hoping that, just for once, Mitchell and Greene would accept a new apprentice without any need for persuasion on her part. She was growing tired of her role as universal sex-toy: it wasn't what she had expected when she'd answered White's Rite of Summoning five decades earlier. There were occasions, more frequently of late, when she had considered going to Mistress Elfennol to ask for her assistance in escaping White, but she suspected the leader of the Council of Elementals would tell her that she had made her bed and she must lie in it.

007-007-007

Solange watched as Mitchell and Greene came into White's office: Mitchell was five foot nine with brown hair and eyes, and a very laconic individual. Greene, by contrast was only five foot six, with black hair and dark brown eyes, and a tendency to volubility. Mitchell was a Fire and Earth Mage in an orange and red robe, while Greene was an Air and Water Mage in blue and white robe. As they entered the office, they lowered the hoods on their robes.

"Good afternoon, sir," they chorused, bowing to White, before taking the seats he indicated on the other side of his desk.

"Greene, Mitchell. I've got a new recruit for you. I think you'll like this one." He went on to outline Tiago's career to date, presenting it in such a way as to arouse their interest in taking on Tiago. Solange watched them from her seat on the window ledge, and saw the look they exchanged that told her that she wouldn't need to persuade them. She breathed a silent sigh of relief at the realisation and hoped that White would let her have some time to herself this evening.

"Very well," Greene was saying, "we'll train him up for you."

"Thank you, gentlemen. I'll send him to you first thing tomorrow morning."

The pair got their feet, then let themselves out, and Solange waited for White to tell her what he wanted her to do next. She wasn't surprised when he ordered her to go and help Tiago prepare for the Rite of Summoning he would be performing in a couple of hours time before the senior members of the League.

She found the boy awake and angry at being locked in, but she told him it had been White's orders and for his own protection since the Palazzo was a rather rambling building in which it was easy to get lost, and he seemed to calm down. She explained to him about the ceremony and taught him the Rite of Summoning that he would need to perform, then she helped him to get changed into the yellow and orange robe that represented his junior status within the League before she took him down to the underground chamber where all the League's ceremonies were carried out.

She led him into the chamber, and left him to cross to the small altar in the centre of the circle of watching mages and familiars, while she moved to stand beside White. Tiago picked up the flagon of mead from the top of the altar and recited the Rite of Summoning which Solange had taught him:

Fare thee forth, Faithful Familiar.  
Come to me now,  
that there may be strength in our union,  
that we might increase in our power.  
By the power of the Goddess  
this must be. Come!

He repeated the words twice more, then made an offering of the mead, holding up a cup of it and reciting a toast to the Goddess and to his potential familiar. He drained half the cup in one go, then poured the rest out on the ground in front of him.

As the last drop of mead hit the stone floor there came a spiralling flash of blue light which, when it disappeared, revealed a pale-skinned woman with large breasts, dark, curly hair and green eyes, who immediately took his hand in hers, then pulled him into an impassioned kiss.

"Greetings Tiago Rodriguez, I am your familiar Camille."

"Greetings Camille."

She took the empty cup and flagon from the altar and set them on the floor beside it, then she asked, "Will you have me to be your familiar, to learn, to teach, to share and to protect from this time forward until we are sundered by death?" 

"I will." Tiago said, then asked, "Will you have me to be your mage, to learn, to teach, to share and to protect from this time forward until we are sundered by death?"

"I will." She pulled his robe off over his head and dropped it onto the floor, revealing his aroused state to those present to witness the Rite. She made him lie flat on his back on the altar, then took his cock in her hand, stroking it a few times, before she straddled his body and sank down onto his erection. He groaned loudly and wondered if the top of his head was going to fly off: Camille was much tighter and hotter than Solange, and he wondered if he was merely imagining his cock growing harder inside her. Camille grabbed his hands, which had automatically grasped her hips, and guided them to her tits instead, then she began to ride him hard, and Tiago belatedly remembered that he'd been told her previous mage had died several days ago. He supposed she must have gone for a while without a good fuck, which explained why she was so eager for him now.

After they'd both reached a climax, Tiago became aware of his surroundings again, and noted that all the mages and familiars were now busy fucking, some in pairs, others in foursomes, and he watched avidly until Camille drew his attention back to her by lifting herself off him.

"Which suite are you in?" she asked as she helped him up from the altar. 

He told her and she led him out of the chamber, his hand grasped firmly in hers, then up the three flights of stairs to his rooms.

"I don't mind watching the others, or even joining them, but not tonight – you're mine and I'm yours exclusively tonight," she told him as she opened the door, then pushed him into the sitting room. "And I am going to fuck you until you beg for mercy, or pass out, whichever comes first."

"What makes you think you won't be the one passing out or begging for mercy first?" Tiago demanded.

"Because I have nearly three centuries of experience to your year's worth of experience," she said. She smirked. "I'm going to teach you things you've never even dreamed of knowing about how to fuck."

"Then let's get started," Tiago growled, and grabbed her wrist to drag her into the bedroom.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those disappointed by the lack of Olivia/James in the prologue, relax - they're here!

20 years later, Kingdom of Hentone

Olivia Mansfield and James, her familiar, rode up to the front door of Walden Hall and dismounted wearily from their horses. As a groom came running to take their mounts, Porter, the steward, hurried down the steps towards them.

"Good evening my lady, sir."

"Good evening Porter, everything all right?" Olivia asked, slightly surprised to see he looked faintly anxious.

"Yes, ma'am, but you have some unexpected visitors. Mistress Vesper Lynd and her familiar arrived about an hour ago, my lady."

"I trust that you and Mrs Porter have looked after them?" Olivia didn't doubt that her staff would have ensured they'd had every comfort following their journey from Hultsford Castle.

"Yes, my lady. We provided them with refreshments and I showed them up to the Blue Room so that they might bathe and change."

"Good. I trust, too, that you've asked them to dine with us this evening and invited them, on my behalf, to stay the night?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Then I see no reason for your anxiety, Porter." Olivia patted his arm in passing, then slipped her hand into James' as they made their way into the house and through to the drawing room where she knew Porter would have put her guests.

"I wonder why they're here," James said quietly.

"As do I." 

As she preceded James through the doorway she smiled at the mage and her familiar. "Hello Vesper, Gabriel. This is a pleasant surprise." She shook hands with them both, as did James, then they sat down, Olivia and James on one sofa, while Gabriel and Vesper resumed their seats on the other. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I'm afraid it may not be much of a pleasure, Lady Olivia," Vesper answered, her tone solemn. "Lord Max sent us to fetch you because Lord Valar is dying."

"Well, I cannot say that I'm surprised to hear that. In fact, I'm more surprised that he's survived for six weeks without a familiar."

"Lord Max said the same thing," Gabriel said.

"Did Max say how long Valar had left?" James asked.

"He thought about a week, when we left Hultsford Castle two days ago," Vesper answered.

"Then we'd better leave tomorrow morning," Olivia said. "Did you tell Eve and Felix?"

"Yes, we called in to see them on our way here, and Eve asked me to tell you that they would be ready to leave any time after eight o'clock in the morning."

Olivia nodded. "James and I had better go and change before dinner. I don't know if Porter told you, but we've been out doing work on the estate."

"Yes he did," Gabriel said. "Something about blacksmithing?"

James nodded. "I do all the smithing work for the estate and our tenants."

"We'll be with you again in half an hour, or so," Olivia said, getting to her feet. "Ring for Porter if there's anything you need."

"Thank you." Vesper smiled up at her, and Olivia smiled back before she and James made their way up to their suite of rooms.

"I suppose we should be grateful that Valar's dying this week, not last," James observed, "given how busy we were with the harvest."

"Well, I am grateful," Olivia said, turning her back so that James could unfasten the row of buttons down the back of her dress.

"Who do you suppose Max will appoint to replace Valar as an Elder Mage?" asked James as he stripped off his breeches and shirt.

"I don't know. Possibly Elsa Waldrist, or Hinton Phillips. Max is a lot less conservative than Valar, so it wouldn't surprise me if he appointed Elsa, especially as she is the more senior mage of the two."

Olivia stepped out of her clothes and followed James into the dressing room where he began running them a bath.

"The trouble with blacksmithing is that it's such sweaty work," he observed as he climbed into the bath with a sigh of pleasure as the hot water soothed his aching body.

"But you always look so good with your shirt off, and beads of sweat running down your muscled chest and arms," Olivia told him, a teasing look in her eyes. She climbed into the bath with him, and sat facing so she could begin washing his chest.

"Minx!" he retorted, putting his right hand to the back of her head and pulling her in closer for a kiss.

"It's a shame we don't have time to join before dinner," she remarked when he let her go again.

"It wouldn't be very polite to keep Vesper and Gabriel waiting," James agreed. "Pity, because I could use the energy."

"That's something I can fix," Olivia said, reaching down into the bathwater to cup his half-hard member.

He groaned and clutched at the edges of the bath as she scooted backwards sufficiently far enough to lower her head and take his member into her mouth. 

"Olivia!" He couldn't help gasping when she hummed, creating a tickling sensation along the length of his shaft. Then she began to move her head back and forth, now almost dropping his member from her mouth, now taking it so far down her throat he worried that she would choke herself. He could feel her energy and power flowing into him, revitalising him after all the magic he'd used up that day in his blacksmithing work.

007-007-007

When they returned downstairs, they found Vesper and Gabriel looking at an album of miniature watercolours.

"Oh, you've found that old thing," Olivia said rather dismissively.

James put an arm around her shoulders. "Ignore her," he said. "They're good, aren't they?"

"Beautiful," Vesper said sincerely.

"Do you still paint?" Gabriel asked.

"Not often, no. I never seem to find the time these days," Olivia answered. 

Porter came in at that moment to announce that dinner was ready, so they went through to the dining room where they enjoyed one of Mrs Porter's delicious dinners while discussing what Vesper had been learning from Lord Max and his familiar, Deborah, and her own familiar, Gabriel. As the conversation flowed James sensed that there was something Vesper wanted to talk about, but was too reticent to bring up the subject. He had a pretty shrewd idea what it was, however, so he broached the subject himself as they retired to the less formal Yellow Sitting Room, as the household called it, with their cups of coffee. 

"Is there something you wanted to ask, Vesper?"

She blushed and ducked her head. James saw Gabriel take her free hand in his and speak softly in her ear; she shook her head slightly.

"There's nothing wrong with asking questions, Vesper," James told her reassuringly.

"It's much too personal," Vesper said quietly, staring into her coffee cup.

James exchanged a look with Olivia, and she gave a brief nod. "Not something relating to our _mentem_ spell, is it?" she asked the younger mage.

Vesper's blush deepened as she muttered an affirmative.

Olivia looked at Gabriel enquiringly, so he answered, "We wondered if you'd teach it to us, the _mentem_ spell, that is. But we didn't know if we would have to join with you in order to learn it."

"I'm afraid I can't answer that," Olivia said, "because we've never tried to teach it to anyone else. Eve and Felix learned how to master it at the same time we did, and anyway we'd already begun joining across our partner bonds while we were still developing the spell."

"The only way to find out is for us to try teaching it to you, and see if you can learn it without joining with us," James told them. "But if you don't mind, we'll wait until after we get to Hultsford Castle, as it's quite a complex spell, and it's better to learn it when everyone is well rested."

"Of course, James, we understand," Gabriel said promptly. "Thank you."

James nodded. "Talking of rest, I don't know about you two, but Olivia and I have had a long, tiring day, so we'll say goodnight and see you in the morning bright and early."

Gabriel got to his feet as James did. "Yes, it's been a long couple of days for us too, riding here from Hultsford Castle. Goodnight Olivia, goodnight James."

Everyone said goodnight, then Vesper followed Gabriel out while Olivia rang the bell for one of the servants to come and clear away their coffee cups. Then she and James made their way upstairs.

007-007-007

"Do you think we'll have to join with Olivia and James in order to master the _mentem_ spell?" Vesper asked Gabriel as he unfastened her dress in their room.

"I don't know. Do you want to?" He turned her around, his hands on her shoulders, then eased the dress off her before leaning in to kiss her briefly.

"No – yes – I don't know," she answered, shaking her head slightly.

"I won't be upset if you do want to," Gabriel said, as he slipped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Vesper wrapped her arms around him and lifted her face to kiss him, tenderly at first, then more urgently as her arousal grew. Gabriel backed her up to the bed, then lifted her onto it, before climbing up after her and resuming their kisses.

Vesper fumbled with his trousers until she freed his stiff member, then she struggled with her underwear, but he immediately pushed her hands aside and removed it for her.

"Please," she gasped.

He smiled as he quickly removed his trousers, then moved his body over hers without bothering about the rest of his clothes. Vesper groaned in pleasure as he pushed his member inside her, then she tugged his head down to kiss him. 

Gabriel kissed her back just as eagerly, his mouth warm on hers before he kissed his way down her throat, pausing to suck on her pulse point, then down to her breasts. Vesper gasped and moaned as he sucked on her nipples, then grazed his teeth over her skin; her body arched up off the bed beneath him and he lifted his head to smirk at her. 

"Gabriel, please!" she begged, and he shifted to kiss her on the mouth again before he began to thrust.

007-007-007

The following morning the four of them set out for Hultsford Castle, pausing along the way for Eve and Felix to join them. James, Eve and Vesper fell into a discussion of his blacksmithing work the previous day, while Olivia found herself riding between Gabriel and Felix, discussing the finer points of land irrigation, which she had been working on the day before.

They arrived at Hultsford Castle late the following day, and Max met them in the courtyard as they dismounted from their horses.

"How's Valar?" asked Olivia, as soon as their initial exchange of greetings was over.

"If he lasts beyond tomorrow, I shall be very surprised," Max answered, his expression sorrowful.

Olivia embraced him; Max and Valar had been friends since they had met as newly-empowered mages, and although Valar was more of a scholar and Max more of an experimenter, they had been drawn to each other as two such contrasting personalities often were.

Max led the way inside, and Thomas took them upstairs to their suites of rooms, which were adjacent to each other.

"Lord Maximillian thought you might prefer to eat up here since there are a lot of visitors here at the moment," Thomas observed. 

"If it's not too much trouble," Olivia said.

"No, my lady, it won't inconvenience us."

"Why don't we all dine together in here?" James suggested at the door of his and Olivia's suite, looking from Vesper and Gabriel to Eve and Felix. 

The others agreed, and Thomas acknowledged the request, before showing the others to their rooms.

"I need a bath and a nap," Olivia said wearily as she sank down onto the bed and reached down to pull off her riding boots.

"Let me do that," James said, kneeling down in front of her.

"Oh, thanks love." She leaned back on her elbows as James eased the leather boots off, then flopped backwards to lie flat on her back. She had drifted off into a doze when James' hands on her thighs roused her awareness again and she opened her eyes to see him looking down at her, his blue eyes alight with mischief, as he knelt between her legs. She registered that he'd removed her skirt, and that her jacket and shirt were unbuttoned, and she pretended to scowl at him.

"What's that look for?" he asked. "You said you wanted a bath and a nap. I thought I'd help you."

She laughed softly. "Yes, all right, I did say that." She held out a hand to him and he pulled her up into a sitting position, then removed her jacket and shirt. "Thanks."

"Think nothing of it." He began undressing himself, and she watched unashamedly, enjoying the sight of his well-muscled body, as she always did. "Ready?" he asked, his amusement at her ogling quite plain.

"Yes." She held out a hand and let him pull her up from the bed, then lifted her face to kiss him. 

James kissed her back, then huffed out a laugh. "C'mon," he said. "Bath."

"Very well."

After they had bathed, they slept for an hour, then James woke Olivia with some intimate kissing. She opened her eyes slowly, a smile on her face, as he swirled his tongue around her nipple. 

"Hello," he said, lifting his mouth long enough to smile and greet her.

"Hello yourself." She threaded her fingers through his hair, then moaned softly as his mouth slowly moved down her body and back up again. She kissed him eagerly as he shifted his body over hers and eased his member inside her.

"James!" she gasped as he began to thrust.

"Olivia." The expression in his eyes was tender and loving as he moved steadily, and she clung to him, wrapping her arms and legs around him. "I've got you, my love," he said in a reassuring tone, and she made an incoherent noise as he drove her towards a climax which elicited a sharp cry of pleasure from her when the moment arrived.

She felt boneless afterwards, and needed James' help to get dressed so that they could dine with their friends, but she didn't mind that, or James' teasing about her wobbly knees when she stumbled on the way to the bathroom before the others arrived. She did feel somewhat guilty that Valar was lying dying while she and her friends were going to enjoy a good meal and companionable conversation, but Olivia knew that the past six weeks must have been agonising for him without Miriel, for all she'd betrayed him, and she was sure Valar would be relieved it was over.

So when Eve and Felix came in, closely followed by Vesper and Gabriel, Olivia pushed aside her feeling of guilt, and greeted the others in a cheerful manner. 

007-007-007

Valar died late the following evening and while Olivia found herself shedding some tears at the news, she also admitted to herself that she had mourned other losses more, including the deaths of Rene Mathis and Anna Karpinsky six weeks ago.

When James brought the news up to their suite where she was talking with Eve, Felix, Vesper and Gabriel, he seemed to sense that she was thinking of Mathis and Karpinsky rather than Valar because he soon suggested that they should all get some sleep since they would have an early start the following morning. The two younger couples immediately said their goodnights and went off to their own suites.

James sat down beside Olivia on the sofa and slid an arm around her shoulders. "You're thinking about Mathis and Karpinsky, aren't you?"

"Am I that transparent?" she asked, smiling shakily.

"To me? Yes, nearly always. You were bound to be reminded of their deaths when it was Valar and the Queen who sent us on the mission that led to those deaths." He turned her face towards his and kissed her tenderly. "And, knowing you as I do, I expect you still feel some guilt over their deaths, don't you?"

She ducked her head to rest it on his shoulder, and slid her arm around his torso. "Yes, I do. Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said quietly. "You wouldn't be you if you didn't still feel some guilt, and I'm not going to try to talk you out of it. You feel what you feel and that's that." He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Come on, let's go to bed."

She let him help her up from the sofa and leaned into him as they moved through into their bedroom. James helped her to undress, then swiftly stripped off his own clothes before joining her in bed. Olivia snuggled up to him, feeling some of her tension easing as he wrapped his arms around her, then kissed her forehead.

007-007-007

The next morning, everyone was up before daybreak, and they made their way in silence to a courtyard at the rear of the Castle where cremations were carried out. Two tall white candles in iron candlesticks stood at each of the four compass points, plus two more on either side of the lectern from which Max was leading the ceremony. As Valar's body was laid atop the funeral pyre which some of the servants had spent much of the night building, Deborah began the service:

"This is a place which is not a place   
in a time which is not a time   
halfway between the worlds of the Goddess   
and of mortals."

Olivia moved the West, Max to the East, Lady Jynest to the South, and Lord Brightstone moved to the North, and from their positions they each recited the appropriate words in turn:

"As the sun sets  
So our friend has left us,  
The water of our tears like the salt water of the sea, and  
Like the water of our mothers' womb, blesses this Circle."

James stood just behind Olivia and as soon as she'd finished speaking, he put his hand on her shoulder.

Lady Jynest spoke next:

"As life is a day  
So our friend has passed into the night  
The fire of our life, the memories and courage, the  
Strength given to us by our friend blesses this Circle."

Then it was Max's turn:

"As all that falls shall rise again  
So our friend will be reborn  
The air we breathe, this treasure of our life, the  
Compassionate caring we give each other blesses this Circle."

Finally Lord Brightstone spoke:

"As the Earth forms us  
So our friend shall return to the earth  
Our Goddess feeds us, and clothes us.   
She gives us everything and in the end she takes our bodies back.  
And earth blesses this Circle."

Then as Olivia, Deborah, Lord Brightstone and Lady Jynest each carried a lit torch across and set fire to the pyre, Max recited the final words of departure: 

"We all come from the Goddess   
And to Her we shall return,   
Like a drop of rain   
Falling to the ocean."

As the fire and body began to burn anyone who wished to do so stepped forward to share a story about Valar, or recite a piece of verse, or play or sing a song to honour him. Once the body had completely burned the ashes were gathered up, and taken into the forest where Max and Deborah scattered them in a clearing. After that everyone went back into the Great Hall of the Castle to eat and drink, and to talk about Valar. 

007-007-007

20 years ago, Remo City

Sixteen year old Alec Trevelyan had been White's protégé until the arrival of Tiago Rodriguez, so he was less than impressed when White arrived back from his trip to Asturias with Rodriguez in tow. Alec was even more annoyed when White turned him and his familiar away from his door when they went to see him about the spell they'd been working on in White's absence. The fact that White didn't even bother to send him away, but instead instructed Boris, his fawning lackey from the kingdom of Hetmanate, to do it, annoyed him even more.

As soon as he and Nicholas, a tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed Air and Water Elemental, were out of ear-shot, he turned to his familiar and asked, "Any way you can get in there to get the lie of the land?"

Nicholas grinned, his eyes blazing. "Easily, dear boy." He grabbed the back of Alec's neck and gave him a passionate kiss, then stripped off his clothes and transformed into a wasp, before flying off at speed along the corridor they'd just come down.

Alec, his lips still tingling from the force of Nicholas' kiss, gathered up his familiar's discarded clothes and headed up to their suite of rooms. He nervously paced up and down the sitting room while he waited for Nicholas' return, too anxious to concentrate on anything. He was very relieved when the familiar flew in through his open window half an hour later.

"What did you find out?" asked Alec eagerly as Nicholas resumed his human form again.

Nicholas recounted the end of the meeting White had been having with Greene and Mitchell.

"So the Asturian brat's going to be learning armed and unarmed combat, is he?" said Alec, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes with an impatient gesture. He resumed his pacing while Nicholas sat watching him, still naked, from the window ledge.

"You're too tense," the familiar observed after ten minutes.

Alec turned on him angrily, then registered the sparks spiralling in a tiny cyclone in the empty fireplace. "Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly.

Nicholas shook his head slightly, then flicked his hand towards the fireplace and a burst of blue and white light caught the sparks, smothering them with a faint sizzling sound. Then he held out his hand to the younger man and said, "Come on, let's join, then we'll work out a plan together to put this Rodriguez in his place."

Alec grinned at him. "You have the best ideas," he said happily.

"Of course, dear boy, of course." 

Alec let Nicholas lead him into the bedroom and happily submitted to his familiar tugging off his robes before he shoved him backwards onto the bed. Alec laughed, then scooted into the middle of the bed as Nicholas climbed up after him.

"On your hands and knees," the familiar said, "facing me, first of all."

Alec obeyed, opening his mouth to take Nicholas' semi-hard cock down his throat. Nicholas held his head steady as he began to thrust into the mage's mouth. Once his cock was sufficiently hard, he made the mage turn around to face the head of the bed. Nicholas took a moment to admire his mage's body and then muttered a short spell that resulted in his fingers becoming slick. He carefully eased them into Alec's arse, twisting and flexing them in order to stretch Alec enough to accommodate him. When he felt Alec's body relax, he withdrew his fingers, whispered the spell again, ran his hand over his cock and then began to ease his prick into Alec's arse. The young mage whimpered slightly as the familiar's cock stretched him, then he moaned as it filled him completely.

"Goddess!" he gasped. "That feels good."

"Good." Nicholas kept his right hand on Alec's hip, but reached around with his left to take hold of the mage's erection, and he began to stroke Alec's cock in time with his.

007-007-007

An hour later they lay on their sides facing each other as they discussed how Alec could teach Rodriguez a lesson.

"I still think my suggestion that you beat the shit out of him in unarmed combat is the best," Nicholas said, his hand lazily stroking up and down Alec's thigh. "After all, he's younger than you, smaller than you, and hasn't had any training, so taking him down should be pretty straightforward. Just don't kill him."

Alec reached for Nicholas' cock. "And will White take me back on as his protégé afterwards?"

His familiar dropped his hand from Alec's thigh to his stiffening cock and began stroking it as Alec was stroking his. "I don't see why not."

"Good." The word was moaned out as Nicholas rolled the young mage onto his back and prepared to join with him again.

007-007-007

Nicholas watched Alec as he circled Rodriguez in the middle of the gymnasium; the pair of them were naked except for a loincloth and wristbands to keep the sweat from running onto their hands.

Camille stood opposite Nicholas; he noted that she had an avid expression in her eyes, and that she kept licking her lips, and he realised abruptly that she was thoroughly aroused by the prospect of the fight, and guessed that she must be enjoying being bonded to a much younger mage again; after all, Mage Haydon had been in his late seventies when he died.

Nicholas' attention switched back to Alec as he saw his mage make a move towards Rodriguez. He had no idea what happened next as neither his eyes nor his brain seemed to process Rodriguez's retaliatory move before it was over; he knew only that Alec's body had slammed into the safety matting with a good deal more force than either he or Alec had thought Rodriguez was capable of exerting.

It took Alec longer than Nicholas liked to pick himself up off the floor, and Nicholas knew that meant Rodriguez had badly winded him.

The two young mages came together again and there was a good deal of furious back-and-forth between them before Alec hit the matting a second time, this time after being tossed over Rodriguez's half-crouched body.

Nicholas bit savagely at his bottom lip, his hands curled into fists at his sides. He wanted to intervene, but knew he could not: if he did, Alec would be penalised, possibly even punished. 

Once Alec was half way up to his feet, the referee helped him to pull himself upright before asking him a question. Nicholas guessed the referee was checking Alec didn't want to concede the fight from the fierce expression on his mage's face when he responded to the referee's question.

After that the fight became vicious: Alec was determined not to be beaten by a boy three years his junior, and Rodriguez seemed determined to kill his opponent. Nicholas, watching impotently from the sidelines, felt sick with apprehension and anger, and berated himself for not finding out more about Rodriguez's background before proposing his plan to Alec because it was perfectly clear that Rodriguez had learnt unarmed combat from somewhere.

When Rodriguez had knocked Alec down for the third time and he showed no signs of movement, the referee called an end to the bout and Nicholas hurried over to help Alec up. Camille sauntered towards Rodriguez, but paused next to Nicholas to inform him, "Tiago hates your sort," she said in a fierce undertone.

"Elementals?" asked Nicholas, confused.

"No, idiot, an extraño," she said, using an Asturian word which it took Nicholas a moment to realise was slang for men who only had sex with men. She went to join Rodriguez, who was being congratulated by Mitchell in hearty terms.

Nicholas and the referee helped Alec to his feet, then they made their way across to the far side of the gymnasium to the Infirmary, where a matronly mage clucked over Alec's injuries, discovering he had two cracked ribs, in addition to multiple bruises. She treated him, then recommended two days of bed rest and no strenuous exercise for five days until his ribs had healed.

Nicholas helped Alec up to their suite, and into bed, but when he tried to apologise to Alec, the young mage cut him off.

"Don't, Nick," he said, his voice a weary rasp. "This isn't your fault."

"But – " began Nicholas.

"Nick. Stop it, please. For goodness sakes, just come and give me a cuddle."

The familiar immediately kicked off his shoes, then shed his clothes rapidly, before climbing into the bed to spoon with him. He carefully slid his arms around Alec, mindful of the bandages the medical mage had used to strap up his ribs.

"Thank you." The young mage's voice was drowsy and Nicholas knew that the dose of opium he'd been given was kicking in.

He nuzzled the back of Alec's neck. "Dear boy, go to sleep. I've got you now."

"Yeah."

A few minutes later, Alec was fast asleep but Nicholas lay awake, wondering how he could get revenge on Rodriguez for the beating he'd given Alec. He recalled Camille's words and tried to make sense of Rodriguez's prejudice: he had no doubt that during their journey from Asturias, Rodriguez would have fucked Solange, and been fucked by White, because he remembered all too clearly White had fucked Alec on their own journey to Remo, when White came to recruit them for the League. White had had a conversation with Alec and himself about Alec's preference for men because, while it wasn't unusual amongst the non-mage population, it was actually fairly rare amongst mages, but not wholly without precedent.

He remembered that White had asked Nicholas if he'd known Alec's preferences in advance of responding to his Rite of Summoning.

"Of course," Nicholas had replied, surprised by the question.

"How?" White had asked.

Nicholas had shrugged and shaken his head slightly. "I can't really explain it, except to say that an Elemental's senses aren't exactly the same as yours, and when I'm in my natural, Elemental form, I can sense all sorts of things about a person that you cannot. I didn't exactly read Alec's mind, as you understand it, but I could sense what kind of person would most appeal to him, so I took on a human form to match his desire."

"Interesting." 

After that White had fucked Alec while Nicholas sucked his cock; neither one of them had really enjoyed the experience since it was quite obvious that for White such sexual intercourse was about controlling his protégé, rather than about bonding. Alec and Nicholas had only been bonded for a few weeks before White had recruited them to the League but that was quite long enough for them to have established a strong emotional, as well as physical, connection, and White seemed intent on disrupting that rather than respecting it. 

In the three years that they'd been with the League, Nicholas had come to realise that White was a very controlling man, and while Alec had grown to value being White's protégé, Nicholas had never been as happy about it, but that didn't mean that he'd let White push Alec aside for this new boy without so much as an explanation. To Nicholas' knowledge it was unprecedented for a young mage to be dropped by their mentor in such a fashion: all the young mages he and Alec had encountered during the past three years had been mentored until they were in their late teens or early twenties. In Nicholas' eyes, therefore, White owed Alec an explanation and an apology; Nicholas felt he also ought to organise a new mentor for Alec because it wouldn't be fair to leave the young mage without someone to continue his training.

Nicholas gave himself a mental shake, putting his anger aside, and focused his attention back on the here and now. He resolved to go and see White the next day, without Alec, and insist that the older mage deal with Alec fairly, otherwise he would approach Mistress Elfennol to ask for her assistance. He lightly kissed the top of Alec's head, then settled himself to get some sleep as well.


End file.
